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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.